Create a peaceful space to pause, and allow yourself to feel God’s presence alongside you, as near to you as your own breath. In following the reflection below, as a church we will draw closer to God and to one another as we grow in faith and deepen our sense of belonging to God.
Psalm 71: 1-3, 21-23 ‘A Prayer for God’s Protection’ (CEV)
1 I run to you, Lord, for protection. Don’t disappoint me.
2 You do what is right, so come to my rescue.
Listen to my prayer and keep me safe.
3 Be my mighty rock, the place where I can always run for protection.
Save me by your command! You are my mighty rock and my fortress.
21 You will make me truly great and take my sorrow away.
22 I will praise you, God, the Holy One of Israel. You are faithful.
I will play the harp and sing your praises. 23 You have rescued me!
I will celebrate and shout, singing praises to you with all my heart.
I am told that when I was a baby, I cried a lot. My Mum and her sister who lived with us would spend all day trying to find out what was wrong and comfort me, but to no avail. Then my Dad would come home from work, pick me up and croon, “Daddy knows! Daddy knows!” I would calm down immediately and peace would reign, much to the relief and disgust (!) of my Mum and Aunt. What he knew we never discovered but it worked for me. I found comfort and peace in his arms.
In the Psalms David often cries out in his troubles to his God, as he does at the start of Psalm 71, but, after being in the presence of God – having poured out his troubles to God, David is calmed down, and is so relaxed he can return to playing his harp. We don’t know what God said to him but God knew his troubles and the right way of bringing comfort and reassurance – just as my Dad did to the baby me.
Life is not easy for us these days and we can become distressed and troubled. So let us follow David’s example and pour out our concerns to our God and then just rest in his presence and he will comfort and reassure us. God is our Father – or as Jesus called Him, “Abba” which being translated means “Daddy” – so be assured that “Daddy knows!”
Charles Wesley summed all this up in his hymn, ‘Jesus, lover of my soul’. May this hymn and particularly the first two verses, be our prayer:
Prayer:
Jesus, lover of my soul,
let me to thy bosom fly,
while the nearer waters roll,
while the tempest still is high;
hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
till the storm of life is past;
safe into the haven guide,
O receive my soul at last!
Other refuge have I none,
hangs my helpless soul on thee;
leave, ah, leave me not alone,
still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed,
all my help from thee I bring;
cover my defenceless head
with the shadow of thy wing.
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Reflection © 2021 Gillian Wood.
Hymn words no longer in copyright.
Image freely available online.
A printable version of this Daily Devotional can be downloaded from here
All material within this order of worship is reproduced by permission under CCL 1226356